I am about to go into retreat for 9 days, starting tonight.

I try to take two retreats each year – I cut off from all electronic contact, and make contact with my heart: my thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, concerns. They are there all the time, but often pushed to the side as people, events and places fill up the space required to reflect. I intended to write posts for the time I was away, as I did last March, but it proved too ambitious for me to accomplish this time.

Innovative certificate programs hardly exist in our Alexander Technique education milieu, and there is currently a great opportunity for you to consider creating one.

You need something as a back-end business, and this is the obvious candidate. To freshen up on "back-end businesses," start with this blog, then read the next three posts for an overview of why you would be smart to create an Alexander Technique back-end business.

In Mejiro, near our old Tokyo studio, there was a Chinese restaurant that office workers would spend half their lunch-time queuing, then be forced to sit at a tiny tables with strangers, eat quickly and be hustled out for the next sitting.

Why would you want to eat there?

It’s incredibly important, and nearly everyone misses it.

In Direct Response marketing (aka Social Media) it serves you to be simple. Ask for one thing, and one thing alone. Repeat your ask – many, many, many, many, many, many times. Be like a hungry 8 year old child pitching dad in the car for an ice-cream while he is driving you to the shops.

I am learning my lesson.

This week, I have been writing copy for the new BCLA website.

Continuing my analysis from yesterday of Yoga teacher and Alexander student at BodyChance Michiko's 12 Point Plan…

My format below is to publish Michiko's 12 Point Plan in full, with my comments following each of the numbered points after you see the three asterisks, like this: ***

Steps 1 ~ 5 can be read here.

6. How is your skill in writing blog, e-mail and website content?

I’m used to writing but I’m still working on the skill.

***

Back when I was 18 years old, I went through a psychotic episode that my family nicked-named: "Jerry's God period."

I was convinced I was enlightened, and I had powers to prove it. I used to slow and speed up my heart while disbelieving kids would press their ears against my chest to see if it was true. I could do it. As part of my psychosis, I inherited amazing powers of control that I no longer have.

Years ago, before I started to rev up BodyChance, I used to do a huge snail mail of our annual ATA booklet about all the visiting teachers we had lined up for the year. As our list grew, so did the cost of mailing out this 24 page A5 booklet.

Then I got a bright idea – put it in a clear plastic self-sealing bag. It would both save me money and show us off, let people be proud of their association with ATA (Alexander Technique Associates as we were known in those days).

Boy, did I make a huge mistake!

Which turned out to be a gift in disguise…

Brendan Nichols, one of my first high level biz coaches, had an epiphany that kick-started him on the road to riches. He was wearing a cheap shinny suit, sitting in a drudgy kitchen on the western outskirts of Sydney, looking at a pile of bills and realising that his $10,000 overdraft at the bank was completely exhausted. He had a wife, a small baby, no money and a lousy business.